Dairy Buds are pictured with their Big Buddies at the Chautauqua County Fair.

Some of the youngest Chautauqua County 4-H members recently experienced the state fair.

The Clover Buds, sometimes starting as early as 5 years old, work with animals as large as cows and as small as rabbits. Some of them are in clubs, where they learn skills like sewing, woodworking and more.

In July, the Clover Buds from the dairy program, called Dairy Buds, showed in the county fair. They didn’t earn blue ribbons or grand champion ribbons, but they did gain experience in showing a cow in the ring, interacting with the judge, and showing an animal in front of a crowd.

“Children can learn a lot more than people give them credit for” said dairy volunteer Julie Nickerson. “We teach them simpler versions of the same information the older youth are learning, and they really absorb it”

Each Dairy Bud was paired with a mentor in the dairy program. Their mentors are older youth in the program that have more experience in raising dairy cattle. They use their experience to give one on one guidance to the Dairy Buds.

This year’s dairy buds came from all over Chautauqua county, from Jamestown to Forestville, and included Landon Carpenter, Randi Frank, Mia Harris-Vazquez, Isaac Hotchkiss, Brant and Cora Anne Joy, Carver Mierzwa, Emerson and Gaige Moss, Linnea Olmstead, and Hayden and Willa Weise.